A photo of someone standing in the middle of the intersection of Rancho California and Ynez roads last night stirred the imaginations of thousands, with many pegging the figure as “La Llorona,” a ghost from Mexican folklore.

The Instagram photo, which was widely circulated on Temecula’s myriad Facebook groups and Twitter, shows what appears to be a person with long black hair wearing a white dress or robe.

According to the legend, that’s the appearance that La Llorona, or “the weeping woman,” takes after she becomes a ghost who balefully haunts rivers and lakes, calling for the children she drowned in a fit of rage.

In some cultures, children are told not to stay out at night for fear of running into the apparition.

Some of the people who commented on the image, possibly tongue-in-cheek, said the appearance at that particular location wasn’t a coincidence, as the intersection is a short distance from the city’s Duck Pond, a body of water that used to cover that entire area.

Temecula Police Chief Jeff Kubel said Friday he received numerous inquiries about the figure in white and it appears Temecula’s children are safe from Mexican ghosts (for the time being.)

“It was a male adult dressed in a long robe who was walking through traffic. We got a lot of calls about him between 9:10 – 9:17 p.m. and our officers were able to locate him in the intersection of Ynez and Rancho California. He was transported to a facility for mental health evaluation,” Kubel wrote in an email.

Aaron Claverie covers Temecula and Murrieta for The Press-Enterprise. The San Diego State graduate has covered everything from the swirling form of a bullfighter to the machinations at city hall during a career that has included stops in Washington D.C., the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas and Arizona, Baja California, the Imperial Valley and Silicon Valley. He has been honored for both his work as an editor and reporter, including a first place award from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. In addition to his coverage of city affairs, Claverie has helped out on both the entertainment and sports desks over the years, covering the Palm Springs International Film Festival, Comic-Con International San Diego, Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the NFL, NCAA football, MLS, NBA and MLB.